Connecticut long-term care providers are quickly trying to comply with a state mandate that requires healthcare workers hired during the pandemic to submit fingerprints for a background check by July 20 or face termination.

To mitigate COVID-19 risk and facilitate hiring, Connecticut officials had relaxed fingerprinting. But the state’s Department of Public Health recently reminded providers that the requirement was back in full effect. They reiterated the deadline in an urgent memo sent to nursing homes and other healthcare facilities late last week, according to multiple local reports.

More than 7,000 workers were hired across the state during the public health crisis, and, so far, about 3,000 have been fingerprinted, according to the health department.

Workers who are fingerprinted on or before July 20, but are still awaiting their results, can still remain hired under provisional status.

“Workers who have not been fingerprinted by July 20, 2021, will not be eligible for continued employment in direct-care positions unless they are fingerprinted before the executive order expires,” DPH spokesman Chris Boyle said in a statement. “The statutory requirement for a background check is not new and is an important measure to ensure the health and safety of nursing home residents.” 

LeadingAge Connecticut and the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities are both working to ensure providers meet the deadline. The groups noted the public health crisis created a fingerprinting backlog within the Connecticut State Police, and they hope the issue can be addressed before the industry loses employees.

“The deadline is creating a very heavy lift for everyone and we do not want to see anyone lose their employment due to an inability to meet the deadline,” Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News on Tuesday. “We have always supported the centralized background check system and continue to do so, and we are hoping that all of those employed and in need of being fingerprinted are able to do so within the prescribed time period.” 

She added that one of the main issues with meeting the deadline is logistics as state police barracks are the only places that employees can be fingerprinted for this particular program. They are not conveniently located for many affected employees.

“We want to be sure that everyone is aware that while the fingerprinting process at the state police barracks was suspended during the public health emergency, all other aspects of the background check process were conducted on employees hired during this time period,” Morelli said. 

“We support the plan and are working collaboratively with DPH, but the ambitious schedule, as we’re nearing the deadline, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the state police barracks can’t deliver the capacity to address the backlog,” Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, told local media. “The consequences are severe and harsh, so it’s much more reasonable to extend the deadline than to allow that to happen, especially given the ongoing and chronic staffing shortages that nursing homes continue to experience in Connecticut.”